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❶Is he headed for a life of crime?

What Excellent College Essays Have in Common

Having a look at colleges at the likes of www. Visiting colleges can be a totally enjoyable experience for budding college applicants, parents and, sometimes, younger siblings. Even writing a college essay can be fun. But if you write about something you care about and dare to be yourself, or perhaps use a bit of irony or "tongue in cheek," you might just end up having a good time.

Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -- know you better. Kidnapped your best friend at 3: Re-enacted Monty Python and the Holy Grail in its entirety before your history class? In the middle of the summer, dressed up in all of your ski clothes, gone to the nearest 7-Eleven to buy ice blocks and joined your friends to slide down the nearest grassy hill, all the while complaining how cold it is?

Spent three days arguing with your friends about the socio-political ramifications of the word "Chick? Received a parking ticket because you had to respond to a piece of racist graffiti in a public bathroom? Application essays should allow people reading them know who you are by what you say. What does this essay say about the student? College admissions readers love when you put smiles on their faces. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended.

Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay. Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place. Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind.

But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: A killer first sentence.

Great first sentences are punchy. A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after.

Enchanted Prince Stan decided to stay away from any frog-kissing princesses to retain his unique perspective on ruling as an amphibian. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly.

All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice. Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: The current Common App prompts are as follows:.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.

Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Universal Application, both of which Johns Hopkins accepts.

Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them. We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back. More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. I actually succeeded in springing it. My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos.

With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant.

At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try.

So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night. But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me.

I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded.

I learned to adapt. Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo.

Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me. Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose.

You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence. I had never broken into a car before. In just eight words, we get: Is he headed for a life of crime? Is he about to be scared straight? Notice how whenever he can, Stephen uses a more specific, descriptive word in place of a more generic one.

Details also help us visualize the emotions of the people in the scene. Finally, the detail of actual speech makes the scene pop. Instead of writing that the other guy asked him to unlock the van, Stephen has the guy actually say his own words in a way that sounds like a teenager talking. They could also mean any number of things—violence, abandonment, poverty, mental instability.

Obviously, knowing how to clean burning oil is not high on the list of things every 9-year-old needs to know. To emphasize this, Stephen uses sarcasm by bringing up a situation that is clearly over-the-top: The humor also feels relaxed. This helps keep the tone meaningful and serious rather than flippant. This connection of past experience to current maturity and self-knowledge is a key element in all successful personal essays.

But using too many of these ready-made expressions runs the risk of clouding out your own voice and replacing it with something expected and boring.

We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit.

We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. I have always loved riding in cars. As I grew, and graduated into the shotgun seat, it became natural and enjoyable to look out the window.

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Craft a unique, memorable application essay with the help of our experienced essay specialists and advisors The dissertation women in the workforce following 15 schools had some of our favorite imaginative college admissions essay “Winston Churchill believed ‘a joke is a We cannot help .

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The Most Memorable College Admissions Essays Reddit Has Ever Seen Will Blow Your Mind It's been a long time since I penned my college application essays, but that doesn't mean I don't still.

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And it is funny indeed. Said to be the funniest college application essay ever submitted, this document has been circulating for at least 20 years. And it is funny indeed. Funny College Application Essay A Sample Short Answer Essay for a College Application. We'll help you help with math problems understand how to transfer from a 2-year college admissions essay help joke to a 4-year school, or between 4. November 26th, at am.

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October edited April in College Essays MIT certainly has a reputation to be proud of, but its admissions department went a little over-board, I think. The first letter is an honest-to-goodness mailing from MIT, the second is one prospective student's reply. Even writing a college essay can be fun. "What?" you say, "Writing an essay is fun? the writer has a great sense of humor. College admissions readers love when you put smiles on their faces.